Will Kurtz Sculpts Everyday People from Newspapers, Tape

Primarily using newspapers and tape, Will Kurtz creates everyday, life-sized people and animal companions. The artist, a native of Flint, Michigan, is able to convey flourishes of realism, even with these unlikely materials. The artist, now based in Brooklyn, says his work hinges on capturing moments in time.

“My subjects are real, everyday people who are often undistinguished and living on the margins of society,” Kurtz says. “I select and create uncommon characters that have a distinct emotive quality. I use photography to capture a moment of their daily lives. They are often comic in character, dress or body type. The posture, gestures, facial expressions and clothing bring the figures to life.”

The artist only started creating art in his mid-30s, after a long career as a landscape architect. At 50, he moved to New York and attended the New York Academy of Art in 2007. (He had graduated from Michigan State University in 1982.) Several shows have followed in the U.S. and across the world. He later served as an instructor at the academy.